Apparatus for removing ballast from beneath a railroad track



April 8, 1969 R. A. PEPPIN ET Al. 3,436,848

APPARATUS FOR REMOVING BALLAST FROM BENEATH A RAILROAD TRACK Filed May 9, 1966 Sheet of 5 24 I L46 2 .30 o

0 :i 4 34 5s 42 51" m 54 r i a '1; ;"7 5s 50 I H i J April 8, 1969 A. PEPPIN ET AL 3,436,848

APPARATUS FOR REMOVING BALLAST FROM BENEATH A RAILROAD TR ACK Sheet 2 of5 Filed May 9, 1966 A ril 8, 1969 R. A. PEPPIN ETAL 3,436,848

APPARATUS FOR REMOVING BALLAST FROM BENEATH A RAILROAD TRACK Filed May 9, 1966 Sheet 3 of 2 US. Cl. 37-104 7 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE An elongated digging unit, which extends across the entire width of the track and comprises a toothed digging chain to remove the ballast, is connected at one end to a vehicle provided with wheels for travel along the track. The connection defines a vertical axis about which the digging unit is rotatable, a pair of parallel support arms for raising and lowering the digging unit, and slide rods mounted on the vehicle and extending parallel to the ties of the track, along which slide rods the support arms can be moved. Horizontal movement of the dlgging unit along these slide rods firstly serves to introduce the digging unit underneath the track and remove it therefrom, and secondly, in combination with the rotatability of the digging unit, allows operation of the digging unit from either side of the track.

This invention relates to apparatus for removing ballast from beneath the ties of a railroad track.

The invention is more particularly concerned with apparatus of the type that can remove the ballast without elevation of the track, such apparatus being supported from a vehicle having wheels for travel along the track, to enable the ballast removal to be carried out as a continuous operation as the vehicle moves along the track.

Equipment has already been proposed having horizontally extending digging units mounted on a track vehicle to extend inwardly beneath the ties from the sides of the track. Such digging units may consist typically of an endless power driven chain with a series of inclined teeth or similar digging members projecting outwardly and downwardly from the chain. Such a chain is driven in the appropriate direction to cause its projecting teeth to dig into fresh ballast and transport such displaced ballast outwardly towards the sides of the track for subsequent col lection by other equipment.

The object of the present invention is to provide improvements in such apparatus. More specifically, it is desired to provide apparatus that is more versatile in the operations it can perform. In this connection, it is a specific object of the present invention to provide ballast removing apparatus that can effectively and efiiciently remove ballast from beneath a switch. No form of such apparatus previously proposed can remove all the ballast from beneath a switch.

A further preferred aspect of versatility of the present invention is that it can be employed to remove ballast from beneath an adjacent track. That is to say, when a pair of tracks run parallel to each other with normal spacing apart, the ballast can be removed from beneath a first one of the tracks, while the vehicle is mounted on the other track. This facility has the advantage that it does not require possession of the first trac Further objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the specific description which follows, such description being provided by Way of example only, the broad scope of the invention being defined in the appended claims. The following description should be read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

3,436,848 Patented Apr. 8, 1969 IQQ FIGURE 1 is a general perspective view, taken from the side and the rear, of a central portion of a track vehicle on which apparatus constructed in accordance with the present invention is mounted;

FIGURE 2 is a front view of the vehicle seen in FIG- URE 1, demonstrating various uses of the equipment and its viersatility, and also including a view of an adjacent trac FIGURE 3 is a small scale view of parts of the apparai128 seen in FIGURE 2, demonstrating a movement there- FIGURE 4 is a similar motion of the equipment;

FIGURE 5 is a diagram illustrating the manner of use 12f the apparatus for digging ballast on an adjacent trac FIGURE 6 is a similar diagram illustrating other use of the equipment, more particularly for digging ballast beneath a switch; and

FIGURE 7 is a view similar to FIGURE 2 of an alternative embodiment.

Referring principally to FIGURES 1 and 2, a portion of a power driven vehicle is shown generally at 10. The vehicle will include track wheels 11 engaging a track 12 which includes cross ties 13. The wheels 11 are not visible in FIGURE 1 because sets of wheels will be arranged both forwardly and rearwardly of the portion of the vehicle shown in FIGURE 1, in order to straddle the area in which the digging unit described below operates. Mounted on a pair of fixed, forwardly projecting brackets 14 of the vehicle are a pair of transversely extending, horizontal slide rods 15 and 16, along which a pair of sleeves 17 and 18 are respectively mounted to slide. The sleeves 17 and 18 are interconnected by a pin 19, the sleeves 17 and 18 and the pin 19 thus together forming a carriage 20 which is movable back and forth across the front of the vehicle 10 along the rods 15 and 16. This transverse movement is power operated by means of a driven screw 21 engaged by an internally screw threaded boss 22 secured to the carriage 20. The screw 21 is rotated by conventional drive means energised from the power plant of the vehicle, a portion of such drive being housed in casing 23.

The pin 19 is keyed to a pair of brackets and 31, these brackets being rotatable with the pin 19 about a vertical axis 32 under the control of a reversible motor 24. In turn, the brackets 30 and 31 respectively serve to mount a pair of support arms 33 and 34 of a parallelo gram linkage, which arms are pivotable relative to the brackets 30 and 31 about the horizontal axes defined by pivot pins 35 and 36. Movement of the linkage is controlled by a power operated hydraulic cylinder 37, one end of which is mounted on the pin 36, while from the other end a piston rod 38 extends to a bracket 39 on the arm 33.

At their remote ends, the arms 33 and 34 are pivotally connected by pins 40 and 41, respectively, to a casing 42 of a support column, identified generally as 43. The casing 42 extends vertically and serves to support beneath it a bracket 44 for mounting an undertrack digging unit 52. A hollow shaft (not shown) connected to the bracket 44 extends vertically upwardly through the casing 42 for rotation by a reversible motor 45 mounted at the top of the casing 42. In this way the bracket 44 and the digging unit 52 can be rotated about the vertical axis identified as 46. The bracket 44 is forked at its lower end to support a pivot pin on which is mounted an upper bracket 51 of the digging unit 52. The pivot pin 50 defines a horizontal axis 53 about which the digging unit 52 can be tilted by a power operated cylinder 54, one end of which is connected to arms 55 extending from view demonstrating another 3 the bracket 44 and from the other end of which there extends a piston rod 56 connected to the bracket 51.

Extending coaxially inside the hollow shaft by which the bracket 44 is rotated, there is a second shaft (also not shown) which is driven by a reversible motor 57 mounted at the top of the column 43, this second shaft serving to drive to a sprocket wheel (not shown) drivingly engaging an endless digging chain 60. The chain 60 is mounted to travel in horizontal grooves defined in the the front and rear surfaces of a horizontally elongated rigid structure which forms the main portion of the digging unit 52 and which has an upper plate 61 and a pair of downwardly inclined cutting surfaces 62 and 63, one extending along each edge of the unit 52. In Operation, whichever of the cutting surfaces leads, having regard to the direction of travel of the vehicle and hence of the digging unit, such surface will cut into and effectively digs the ballast, which is then transported to one side of the track by the teeth 64 of the moving span of the chain 60 which extends along the front edge of the unit.

Hydraulic power will be conveyed to the cylinder 54 in a conventional way, for example through a hose secured to the outside of one of the arms 33, 34 or extending along the inside of one of these arms. In a similar way, an appropriate hydraulic power supply, will be fed to the motors 24, 45 and 57 and also to the cylinder 37. In View of the essentially conventional nature of these power supplies, complication of the drawings has been avoided by ommission of any illustrate of such supplies in detail.

It is important to appreciate the various movements of which the illustrated equipment is capable.

Firstly, the carriage 20, and with it the column 43 and digging unit 52, can be traversed by screw 21 back and forth across the front of the vehicle in a horizontal sliding movement.

Secondly, the support arms 33 and 34, and with them the column 43 and digging unit 52, can be rotated about the vertical axis 32 by motor 24, with a travel of approximately 180.

Thirdly, the arms 33 and 34 can be inclined up and down in a parallel movement by the hydraulic cylinder 37 (see FIGURE 3) thus raising or lowering the column 43 and digging unit 52 in a generally vertical arcuate path, while maintaining the vertical orientation of the column 43 and hence the horizontal disposition of the unit 52.

Fourthly, the bracket 44 and with it the digging unit 52 can be rotated by the motor 45 through 360 about the vertical axis 46.

Fifthly, the horizontal nor near horizontal inclination of the digging unit 52 can be adjusted within limits (see FIGURE 4) by rotation of the unit 52 about the axis 53 under the operation of the cylinder 54.

Finally the vehicle can be driven along the track and there is of course the travelling movement of the chain 60 for removing to the side of the track the ballast which is dug by one or other of the cutting surfaces 62, 63.

An important aspect of the apparatus resides in the fact that the unit 52 extends fully across the entire width of the track from one side to the other side, as demonstrated by the full line position in FIGURE 2.

The manner in which the device can be inserted under a track from either side is evident from FIGURE 2. If it is desired to change the orientation of the device from that shown in full lines in FIGURE 2 to that represented by the broken line arms designated 33' and 34', for example, the unit 52 is first rotated about the axis 46 to bring it clear of the track. The column 43 is then raised; and the arms 33 and 34 are then rotated through 180 about the axis 32 and the column 43 is relowered to bring the arms to the position shown at 33 and 34. The digging unit 52 is then rotated back into position under the track and the carriage is moved to the other end of its travel, i.e. the left-hand end as shown in FIG- URE 2. The unit 52 is then in operating position beneath the track in essentially the same condition as in the full lines position of FIGURE 2, except that it is now supported from the opposite side of the track.

When it is desired to use the equipment to undercut an adjacent track, such as the track 12a in FIGURE 2, the arms 33 and 34 are brought to the orientation indicated as 33a and 34a in FIGURE 2 and the digging unit is turned to the position indicated at 52a. This operation is also illustrated diagrammatically in FIGURE 5, which shows the vehicle 10 on track 12, and inwhich the letters A to D represent four successive principal positions of the digging unit 52. Position A shows the unit 52 before insertion under track 12; Position B shows unit 52 under track 12 for the undercutting thereof. After work has been performed on track 12, the unit 52 can be moved to Position C and then under track 12a to Position D for undercutting track 12a. The vehicle can then travel along track 12 while undercuting the adjacent track 12a.

Another important advantage of the illustrated apparatus in comparison with prior equipment is its ability to undercut a switch. For an understanding of this operation, attention is directed to FIGURE 6 which illustrates, solely by way of example, a typical sequence of operations that might be adopted in such circumstances. In FIGURE 6 the vehicle 10 is shown first at location 10a with the digging unit 52 firstly in Position E. The unit 52 is moved under the track to Position F, after which the vehicle is driven along the track while undercutting to the location indicated at 10b. The unit 52 is then moved out from Position F to Position G beside the track, the vehicle is returned to location 100 and the unit 52 is then moved to the other side, that is into position H, and is then worked under the track until in Position I, whereupon the vehicle is moved forward to location 10d where the undertrack unit 52 can be returned from Position I to Position J. Since the undertrack digging unit 52 can be made to project the full distance across the track from either side and is thus supported exclusively from the selected side, it can undercut the entire area of the switch 76.

It should be explained that in moving the unit 52 from an outer to an inner position, e.g., from Position E to Position F, the unit can be made to dig its own way under the track, if the chain 60 is driven simultaneously with inward rotation of the unit 52 by the motor 45.

FIGURE 7 shows an alternative construction in which a parallelogram linkage is not used. A single arm is rigidly connected to and supports the column 43 from the bracket 30 of the carriage 20. The inclination of the arm 70 is controlled by a power operated hydraulic cylinder 71 mounted on bracket 31. Since a single arm 70 alone cannot perform in a manner equivalent to a parallelogram linkage, the column 43 will not remain vertical as the arm swings up. However, the digging unit 52 can be kept horizontal, notwithstanding some tilting of the column 43, by means of the adjustment afforded by the cylinder 54. Apart from the above, the manner of operation of the modification shown in FIGURE 7 is the same as that of FIGURES l to 6.

We claim:

1. Apparatus for removing ballast from beneath the ties of a railroad track comprising:

(a) a vehicle including wheels for travel along the track,

(b) an elongated digging unit of a length sufficient to extend beneath the ties transversely across the entire width of the track, said unit having a portion projecting beyond a side of the track and including means for displacing ballast encountered by said unit to a side of the track,

(c) means connecting said projecting portions to said vehicle for travel therewith along the track,

(d) and means mounting said connecting means on said vehicle to be movable selectively between a first position in which said portion of the digging unit projects beyond one side of the track and a second position in which said portion projects beyond the other side of the track.

2. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said digging unit comprises:

(e) an elongated rigid structure,

(f) an endless chain with outwardly projecting teeth extending around said structure, including a pair of main spans of said chain each extending along a re spective elongated side of said structure,

(g) means for driving said chain to cause said spans to travel transversely of the track,

(h) and a pair of cutting surfaces, each extending along and projecting outwardly from a respective elongated side of said structure beyond the associated chain span extending along such side whereby to extend transversely across the track and on the leading side of the unit to deflect ballast from the roadbed to said associated chain span for conveyance to a side of the track.

3. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said connecting means (c) comprises (i) a vertical support column,

(ii) means mounting said digging unit on the foot of said column to project horizontally therefrom,

(iii) and means for rotating said unit about the vertical axis of said column in order to project said unit beneath selectively the track supporting the vehicle or an adjacent track.

4. Apparatus according to claim 3, wherein said means (d) for mounting said connecting means movably on the vehicle comprises:

(iv) slide means secured to said transversely thereof,

(v) a carriage slidably mounted on said slide means,

vehicle to extend (vi) support means mounted on said carriage to project laterally outwardly of the vehicle, said support means being connected to said vertical column to support the same,

(vii) and means for pivoting said support means (vi) about a vertical axis on said carriage for orienting said support means and hence said column at a selected one of the sides of the vehicle.

5. Apparatus according to claim 4, including (viii) means for inclining said support means (vi) for raising and lowering said column relative to the vehicle.

6. Apparatus according to claim 5, including (ix) means for tilting said digging unit about a horizontal axis on the foot of said column for adjusting said digging unit for parallelism with the ties of the the track.

7. Apparatus according to claim 5, wherein said means (viii) includes means for maintaining said column vertically oriented during operation of said means (viii) to raise or lower said column.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,552,649 5/1951 Protzeller 37-104 2,664,652 1/1954 Talboys 37-104 XR 2,886,904 5/1959 Kershaw 37-104 2,899,759 8/ 1959 Campbell 37-104 2,921,636 1/1960 Andres et al. 1711 6 3,054,459 9/1962 Scheuchzer 37104 X EDGAR S. BURR, Primary Examiner. 

